Hendry County Sheriff warns people of online threats amid environmental advocacy

HENDRY COUNTY, Fla. — A dispute between the Hendry County Sheriff's Office and environmental group Captains for Clean Water has gained traction online.

Sheriff Steve Whidden posted on Facebook, claiming that comments on Captains for Clean Water's social media pages included threats against public officials regarding a newly approved rock mine in Palm Beach County.

See the comments the Sheriff is referencing below:

"Recent posts by Captains for Clean Water have fueled hostility and provoked violent rhetoric, putting our citizens' safety at risk. Their actions have even inspired some Floridians to issue threats to public officials, warranting the attention of law enforcement," the sheriff's office stated in its Facebook post.

When Line spoke with Whidden, he showed her several comments he found on the organization's social media pages.

"One of them says, 'Burn them and their lies.' Another one says, 'The good old boy system is solid and strong in our country and stayed for over 230 years, these corrupt people should be executed.' Another one says, 'Violence will stop this. Sounds harsh. I get it. Examples must be made,'" Whidden said.

The sheriff emphasized that his concern is about public safety, not targeting the environmental group specifically.

"You control Facebook sites and other social media sites, and people are making threats to execute people. You should at least do something on your site to denounce that," Whidden said.

Daniel Andrews, co-founder of Captains for Clean Water, views the sheriff's actions differently, suggesting it's a politically motivated attack meant to distract from their environmental advocacy against the rock mine project.

"Whenever we see something that's even somewhat questionable, it gets deleted immediately, but we heard absolutely nothing from the sheriff's office at all. They didn't reach out to us, they didn't call us, they didn't email us, nothing at all, and this appears to be a politically motivated attack on our organization," Andrews said.

Andrews defended his organization's mission, stating they're focused on environmental protection, particularly concerning Everglades restoration efforts that they believe could be derailed by the rock mine.

"There is not one thing that even could be remotely perceived to be provoking any kind of violent rhetoric. I mean, we're in this fight because we believe in the cause," Andrews said.

Sheriff Whidden said his post was intended as a warning and that threats won't be tolerated in Hendry County.

"You're not going to get anywhere with that, at least not not here, not with me. So just be civil, drop the threats," Whidden said.

While the sheriff noted that making online threats is against the law, no arrests have been made in connection with the comments.

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